'Schitt's Creek' just covered Tina Turner and it's simply the best

David (Dan Levy) and Maura (Catherine O’Hara) swoon over a serenade from Patrick (Noah Reid) on ‘Schitt’s Creek.’ (Photo: Pop)

There’s no greater surprise on a TV comedy than when a character sings and it’s a) actually good and b) disarmingly touching. Schitt’s Creek nailed it in this week’s episode when David (Dan Levy) and mom Moira (Catherine O’Hara) braced for an open mic night serenade from David’s boyfriend, Patrick (Noah Reid).

But when Patrick began singing a beautiful acoustic version of Tina Turner’s “The Best,” both mother and son got misty — although only one of them was scripted to. “While we were shooting, Catherine was getting so moved by it that she just had to fit it into the character. At one point, she was like, ‘Well, I guess Moira can just cry,'” Dan tells us.

The episode aired Tuesday night in Canada and by Wednesday morning, Reid’s cover was No. 1 on the iTunes Canada soundtrack chart.

Now that the episode has aired in America on Pop, it’s available on iTunes here as well. Dan, who co-created the series with his father, Eugene Levy, says he’s always loved the song’s lyrics. “You never really think to listen carefully to the lyrics, but it’s such a stunningly written pop song,” he says. “I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that if we can find a way to do an acoustic version of this song, the lyrics are so beautiful.”

The show’s writers wanted to pepper moments into the season bringing new couple David and Patrick closer together, and Dan knew that Reid — who has a background in musical theater and an album on iTunes and Spotify — had a great voice they could use at some point. “We just thought what would be a great way to really show the audience that these two mean more to each other than they had initially expected or had ever thought,” Dan says. “We obviously went through a variety of different [ideas] — there’s the Say Anything approach to showing up to the motel, but we didn’t know what to do with that. The idea of an open mic night [at David and Patrick’s shop] we found really funny because it’s so disturbing to David, the idea that anyone would find that entertaining or enjoyable. Then on top of that, have his boyfriend spearhead the whole thing and ultimately sing to him — we just thought it was such a great way to showcase David’s biggest fear and then ultimately reveal that he had nothing to worry about.”

The song selection was Dan’s, but the arrangement was all Reid’s. “I called up Noah and said, ‘Here’s the situation. We want like a really slow, nice cover. Do you want us to coordinate how we do that or do you want to take a stab at it?’ He said, ‘No, no, no, let me play around with it for a bit.’ About a month later, I got this little MP3 sent to my phone where he was just sitting with an acoustic guitar and he sang the song. I would listen to that if it weren’t on my show,” Dan says. “Needless to say, that moment far exceeded any of my expectations in terms of just how beautifully it turned out. That’s all thanks to Noah Reid.”

This isn’t the first time Schitt’s Creek has caused waterworks with music, though. In the Season 3 finale, Moira surprised daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy) by showing up at her belated high school graduation and singing lead on a dreamy cover of “Baby I’m Yours.”

What other TV comedies have used actors covering songs to such great effect? We’ll list some of our favorites, feel free to join in.

Murphy Brown: The titular Motown aficionado (Candice Bergen) serenaded her newborn with Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Women.”

The Office: Andy (Ed Helms) insisted on singing Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” as his goodbye.

Gilmore Girls: We’re counting it because Lorelai (Lauren Graham) karaoking Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” was funny, until Luke (Scott Patterson) walked in.

Selfie: This show lasted less than a season, but the memory of just-rejected Eliza (Karen Gillan) singing Sia’s “Chandelier” at the company karaoke party lives on…

As does that a cappella rendition of  Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” Henry (John Cho) performs to an empty room.

Schitt’s Creek airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Pop. Catch up on the first three seasons on Netflix. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

'Schitt's Creek' Season 4 preview: A dead body, romance, and Asbestos Fest

The Roses are back. Season 4 of Schitt’s Creek begins tonight on Pop, and the comedy picks up right where it left off — the morning after Moira (Catherine O’Hara) surprised Alexis (Annie Murphy) by showing up at her belated high school graduation, David (Dan Levy) and Patrick (Noah Reid) shared their first kiss, and Johnny (Eugene Levy) and Stevie (Emily Hampshire) sold out the motel for the first time.

“Over the past three seasons, we’ve explored the idea of self-love and family. Season 4 centers around the Roses learning to trust people and themselves and their instincts,” Dan Levy tells Yahoo Entertainment.

David and Patrick’s fledgling relationship, already a favorite with fans, will continue to grow. “The idea of David getting a boyfriend was both exciting and really daunting because we didn’t know who that person was and what they really looked like,” Dan says. “We had a vague idea when we wrote it, but what kind of person could tolerate David long-term? That’s a really special person. What Noah has brought to the character of Patrick is this loving, calm balance to David. He really seems to be charmed by everything that has thrown people off of David in the past.”

David (Dan Levy) and Patrick (Noah Reid) in their store. (Photo: Pop)

It’s the most difficult storyline for him to write, Dan admits. “Because I just don’t want to mess it up. I never really had gay characters when I was growing up that I could relate to. Not that I feel we have a responsibility, but you want to tell it accurately,” he says. “You want to be able to connect with not just people in the queer community, but anyone who’s gone through the early stages of finding someone who could be the love of your life.”

Alexis, meanwhile, is perhaps his favorite character to watch this season. “Just because she’s come so far. She’s been the most hopeful and the most optimistic I think out of all of the Roses, which in a weird way makes me quite emotional for her because she’s really trying her best. Season 4,” he says, “really finds her making mature and rational decisions for herself. She’s deciding to put herself first instead of wasting time wallowing over a guy, even though we do have some regrets that we’ve peppered in there. But it’s really about her seizing her singlehood and trying to make something of her life in this town. It’s really fun to see. Annie plays the character with such a tender touch that you always end up rooting for Alexis. Even though on paper she’s insanely self-obsessed and self-absorbed, there’s such a lovability to that character that Annie just intrinsically has.”

David (Dan Levy) and Moira (Catherine O’Hara) at Asbestos Fest. (Photo: Pop)

The season is also another great showcase for O’Hara, whose Moira worries that she contributed to the death of a guest in the premiere, and in later episodes agrees to headline the Schitt’s Creek Asbestos Fest and becomes the victim of an internet death hoax. “The challenge with Moira is she will never not want to leave. It’s about how do we keep her from slipping into depression ultimately,” Dan says. “The great thing about Moira is that she will get involved if she feels whatever it is requires her services. She takes a slightly more authoritative hand this season. She’s a little more active on council. She’s trying to continue to educate the community with her experience and endless pool of knowledge and opinions. I think leaving at the end of Season 3 when she showed up to Alexis’s graduation and made this choice to put her daughter over her own self-interest, we are slowly continuing to poke holes to let the light through with Moira this season.”

Johnny (Eugene Levy) manning the front desk. (Photo: Pop)

For more on what the new season holds for Johnny and Stevie’s partnership, check out the conversation we moderated this week at New York’s 92nd St. Y below. The cast (minus O’Hara, who missed the evening due to the flu) also revisits those moving scenes in the Season 3 finale and teases what may be the best Moira ensemble to date and another memorable musical moment.

Schitt’s Creek Season 4 premieres Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. on Pop.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

'Schitt's Creek' Sneak Peek: Moira's Acting Career Begins Again?

This could be the moment Moira (Catherine O’Hara) has been waiting for. As you see in the exclusive clip above from tonight’s episode of Pop’s Schitt’s Creek, David (Dan Levy) haphazardly delivers some good news to his mother: her agent called. He’s short on details (“David, your inability to retain information that doesn’t directly pertain to you might actually require medical attention,” Moira says), but luckily, they’ve sent an email. Once Moira finds it (“David, there’s nothing here but ‘hot singles in my area'”), she learns she’s been offered the opportunity to audition for a role in the feature film The Crows Have Eyes 2. “And so it begins again,” she says.

Later in the episode, David helps Moira put herself on tape, which you won’t want to miss. “This is just one big ripoff of The Birds,” he says after running lines with her. “This is about crows. It’s much more specific,” she insists.

Related: Schitt’s Creek Season 3 Preview

Also a must-see: our Facebook Live chat yesterday with Catherine, Dan, Eugene Levy, and Annie Murphy. Watch it below. We covered everything from Dan’s real-life failed attempts at getting his drivier’s license (an inspiration for last week’s episode), to the joy of finding David’s sweaters and Moira’s fashionable ensembles, to Murphy’s sweet confession that she snuck photos of Eugene and Catherine on set when they first started working together because she couldn’t believe it.

Schitt’s Creek airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Pop.

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